Factors affecting on cooling tower performance
THE factors affecting Cooling Tower performance
are:
Dry
bulb and wet bulb temperature of the air
Capacity
C
Range
Approach
Efficiency
of contact between air and water
Heat
load
Ambient wet bulb temperature is a condition
measured by a device called a psychrometer. A psychrometer places a thin film
of water on the bulb of a thermometer that is twirled in the air. After about a
minute, the thermometer will show a reduced temperature. The low point when no
additional twirling reduces the temperature is called the wet bulb temperature.
Cooling tower performance is related to ambient
wet bulb conditions. Higher wet bulb temperatures occur in the summer when
higher ambient and relative humidity occurs.
The measured wet bulb temperature is a function
of relative humidity and ambient air temperature. Wet bulb temperature
essentially measures how much water vapor the atmosphere can hold at current
weather conditions. A lower wet bulb temperature means the air is drier and can
hold more water vapor than it can at a higher wet bulb temperature.
